


Left Behind

by mimetime



Category: Garfield - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Break Up, Drug Abuse, Drugs, Heartbreak, Internalized Homophobia, Jealousy, Multi, Odie is mute, Self-Harm, Unrequited Love, sad jon hours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 22:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29125143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mimetime/pseuds/mimetime
Summary: Jon Arbuckle finally confesses his love to his roommate and best friend, Lyman.Things get complicated.>> trigger warnings will be put on their respective chapters, stay safe :)updated feb 20; unfinished
Relationships: Jon Arbuckle/Liz Wilson, Jon Arbuckle/Lyman, Liz Wilson/Lyman
Kudos: 1





	Left Behind

The day had begun the same way every day began in the Arbuckle residence. It was around 8 AM and Jon was sipping on some coffee and doodling comic ideas. Occasionally, he'd chuckle at his own corny punchlines. Garfield, of course, was cozy in bed with every intention to stay there. He'd undoubtedly stay asleep well into the afternoon. Odie had sneaked off to his secret study room to do a bit of private researching about the Soviet Union. Everyone always assumed he was either off chasing his tail or getting hit by a truck. 

_BRRRING! RRRING!_

Jon perked up at the distant sound of an alarm clock. It was dismissed moments later, and the cartoonist pushed himself up to his feet, which were slipped into his favorite pair of bunny slippers. He kicked them off, grabbed a hold of his cup of lukewarm coffee, and hurriedly got himself to the kitchen, leaving behind a pile of half-finished sketches. He heard Lyman's footsteps dragging groggily against the floor as he approached the kitchen, and Jon felt his heart flutter in his chest with each step. He was always excited to see the other man, and his cute bed hair was a sight Jon never let himself miss. Beyond that, Jon really only got to share a brief moment with Lyman every morning before the mustached man had to leave for work. 

Since Jon worked from home, he found himself feeling lonely often. Garfield slept through most of the day, and pretty much whenever he was awake, he was either eating or causing trouble. Odie was a good pal, but he didn't ever talk to him like Garfield did. Everyone assumed he was just too stupid to figure out how to speak, or at least bark, but truth was, he just _couldn't_. But he had taught himself sign language so he could speak with his few friends outside of home who understood him. Long ago, he given up on trying to communicate with his family members at all since none of them ever seemed to realize that the hand gestures he was making weren't just random, meaningless movements. And while he was much smarter than the average mutt, writing was just beyond him. He'd tried to learn, but the letters always came out as incomprehensible scribbles. Despite how hard he tried, there were some things his canine roots just stopped him from being able to do. It frustrated him to watch Garfield talk with Jon and his own owner, Lyman, when he didn't get to say anything at all. So he tended to isolate himself. 

Jon, while not physically mute, had developed a similar attitude--at least, when it came to Lyman. He never felt afraid to speak his mind to others, and his big mouth often got him into trouble, but he was more careful with what he said to Lyman. Truth is, he valued Lyman's opinion. What the slightly shorter man thought of him was incredibly important to him, so he did whatever he could to be someone that Lyman enjoyed having around. 

"Morning, Jon," Lyman mumbled. His voice was rougher in these earlier hours, sounding borderline gruff. It would wear off with his morning cup of coffee, which Jon was already brewing for him. 

"Morning, Lyman!" Jon chirped and smiled at him. He got a tired, half-smile in return. Jon felt his face flush, and quickly looked away to hide it. Lyman always had this kind of effect on him. It made him feel silly at best and pathetic at worst. All it took was Lyman being _there_ and Jon internally became a pile of mush. Outwardly, though, he did his best to keep his composure. He didn't want to make his friend uncomfortable, and it's not like he was entirely accepting of his own sexual identity after being told that gayness was wrong his whole life by his old-fashioned mother. Jon knew he wasn't gay--he genuinely was attracted to women. He always had been, and he'd be happy with having a wife someday. And his crush on Liz especially was cast iron. But still, Lyman made him question if he was entirely straight. And after a little over a year of living together, it had become increasingly obvious that he was _not_. 

It made Jon uneasy thinking of how long this had gone on for, especially considering that his feelings only ever seemed to grow stronger--rather than naturally fade--with time. Jon had met Lyman back in high school. They weren't very close, but Lyman was really the only person he had to call a friend. He had defended Jon from bullies whenever he could, and would even sit with him at lunch sometimes, at least once a week. He had his own better group of friends, one which Jon was much too intimidated to join after being labelled the freak of the school. He never understood why Lyman liked him when nobody else ever seemed to. 

And he still didn't really understand it. Jon felt so lame next to Lyman. The man was entering medical school and working an unrelated full-time job all at once, and Jon was just... a drawer. He felt like a complete failure in comparison, but Lyman never treated him that way. It's just the same as it was back then: Lyman's the only one who has any sort of respect for Jon "Carpface" Arbuckle. 

_Ding!_

"Ah. Coffee's ready," Jon said, snapping out of his thoughts. He grabbed the coffee pot and poured some steaming hot liquid into a colorful mug with the words "Bone-afied Besties" printed on it. It matched Jon's coffee mug, which read "Friends Fur-ever". Obviously, Jon is the one who bought them. Lyman didn't mind, though. He had to admit that he did enjoy a pet pun every now and then, and Jon had plenty to spare. 

The two young men took a seat together at the table with their coffees in-hand. Jon always put a lot of creamer in his, preferring a sweeter taste, while Lyman drank his without any at all. Lyman blew away the steam rising from the caffeinated drink to take a sip, smiling in delight at the warmth and the strong flavor. 

"I've gotta take Garfield to the vet this afternoon," Jon mentioned, swishing his coffee around in his cup. It had gotten a little cold now, so he wasn't very interested in drinking the rest of it. "He's come down with a pretty bad cold." 

"Oh dear, that cat's always getting sick," Lyman said. He smirked. "Though, when you two get back from the vet's, _you're_ usually the one who looks better than before." 

Jon blushed and huffed, "Pfft! W-What? I don't know what you're talking about..." 

>> will update :) 


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